Relax, Little Princess
by XxGaarasGirlXx
Summary: Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was choice, but falling in love with you was completely out of my control. Asuma/Hinata Now that he has her, he's not willing to ever let her leave.


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A/N:

_Don't give me that look. This is a good one-shot, one that took me a long time to write and one that I am very proud of. Please don't hate me for doing this, but I really did enjoy writing it. Don't hate it until you give it a read, maybe you'll change your mind. The song used in this is 'Dare You to Move' by Switchfoot. Also, some other songs to listen to while reading is 'I'll be' by Edwin Mccain, 'He's Everything You Want' by Vertical Horizon, 'In the Air Tonight' and 'You'll Be in My Heart' by Phil Collins. Or my personal favorite, 'Sweet and Low' by Augustana._

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**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story and plot. Characters and song used belong to their respectable owners.**

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**Relax, Little Princess**

_Asuma/Hinata_

_Oneshot_

* * *

He knew it was wrong to feel this way, to want something so beautiful and gracious. He had no right. It was the worst of sins, disgusting and frowned upon so severely it was a striaght shot to Hell. He didn't want to feel this way, God knew he didn't. But he couldn't stop them, he had tried. Lying to himself and others, pretending like nothing was different when he saw her, talked with her, smiled to her as if everything was fine. It wasn't. It was becoming too much, burning him from the inside out.

He hated the way he felt, he truly did. And every minute of every goddamn day he wished it weren't true, that it was an illusion, a genjutsu he could easily dispell. But it wasn't, it was real, and it scorched his insides every time her glimmering eyes glanced upon him. As the days passed, he wished to be nothing more and more, to not exist because it was killing him.

How could he stay near her, put himself through the torment, when he felt gross and old next to her? Why couldn't she notice him? Why? Why did this happen to him? To her?

Everything was crashing around him so fast he hardly had to time to register his life was falling apart. It was no surprise to him, though. He had lost control of everything, and the only person keeping him slightly grounded was the one person he wanted to distance himself from the most. The more he tried to ignore her, the more, it seemed, she was there. It was as if she was some concoction of his nightmares, wanting him to suffer and covet what he couldn't have.

It physically hurt to see her. He wanted to push her away everytime he was faced with her young and innocent face. He wanted to turn and run from her, but she had such a tight hold on his being it wasn't possible. He couldn't hate her, it was impossible to do so, but God how he hated himself. He despised the man that stared back at him in the mirror, wanting nothing more than to throw himself from a bridge when any thought of her flashed in his head. He made himself sick, the urge to retch and heave almost overcame him when he acknowledged the feelings he harbored for her.

Dragging a hand down his tanned face, he breathed out a ragged breath. People were starting to notice what he wanted to hide from the world, and it was getting harder and harder to stand strong in front of them. They knew, and with every look of disgust, every glance of disappoint shot his way, he could swear it was like the sharpest of weapons embedding themselves into his skin.

They would never understand, as much as he wished someone would. How could they possibly have an inkling of the hell he was going through? It was like being beaten to death, being brought back, only to be stabbed again and again and screamed and yelled at until there was nothing left of him. He was drowning and reaching for the surface, only to be dragged further under by his own thoughts of self-loathing.

"Asuma,"

Dark, clouded eyes slid slowly from the ground under him to gaze up at the figure standing a few feet away. One solitary gun metal eye stared at him flatly, giving nothing away. A mask covered the lower portion of his face, though Asuma knew what was beneath it. Being best friends with Kakashi since childhood, it was rare for secrets to be between them. That was why Kakashi knew the entire truth. He knew, and he didn't judge, something Asuma was enternally grateful for.

"...Are you coming?"

Asuma knew where Kakashi was referring to. It was ritual almost, on this night to head to the one shinobi bar in the village. It was December 27, her birthday. She was turning 18 today, and she was just as beautful, just as gracious and innocent as she always was. And it killed him a little more to know that she was still something he couldn't have. Something he couldn't hold or touch.

"Yeah." he answered, his voice rough and jagged, like the edge of a knife.

They walked slowly down the road, eyes straight ahead, silence and tension thick around them like a blanket. Passer-bys shot disapproving glances at them both, eyes full of disdain and repulsion. Asuma admired Kakashi for taking it all in stride, acting as if nothing was different and helping him cope. He was grateful to have someone to depend on, someone who tried to understand and help.

"She did it today, Asuma. She confessed to him."

Kakashi was slightly amazed, though careful not to show it, that his friend gave no hint of what he was thinking or feeling. The smoker next to him remained calm and blank, a picture perfect Leaf shinobi. If it was the right thing to do or not, Kakashi wasn't sure.

"...I'm happy for her. She deserves him." was his quiet, flat response.

In truth, the utter depression and sadness weighing down on his shoulders at that moment was so heavy, it was amazing his knees hadn't buckled under the weight. They were slightly shaking instead, and his eyes hardened as he stared ahead. He wouldn't let anyone see how this was affecting him. He couldn't.

Asuma reached into his pocket and pulled out the cigratte pack he always kept handy. Shaking it slightly until one of the sticks came loose, his eyes bored down into the nicotine roll. What was the point of it? Smoking right now wasn't going to help him at all. It wasn't going to take away the hurt and confusion. It wasn't going to heal a wound invisible to a person's eyes. It wasn't going to take away the feelings he still had for her.

Kakashi watched carefully from the side, calculating everything his companion did. His solitary eye didn't miss the flashes of thoughts in his eyes or the tensing of muscles and stiff steps. Asuma sucked on his teeth before crumbling the small box in his hand and tossing them into the nearest trash bin as they passed. The Copy Nin said nothing but continued to walk beside his friend in silence. Keeping what he knew of the confession to himself.

* * *

The shinobi drinking bar they stepped into, known commonly as the Lazy Senbon, was oddly packed. For this Asuma was grateful....and not. In truth he wanted silence, to be alone, and to drink himself away since he was too much of a coward to do it himself. On the other hand, he was glad to be out of his secluded house. He needed to be away from his own thoughts. Kakashi led them to a bar off to the side, away from the crowd gathering in the middle of the small space rubbing and grinding against each other to the music.

Asuma slumped in his seat, his eyes staring holes into the tabletop as his hands lay palm down on the surface in front of him. Kakashi sat across from him, watching him carefully as if the man in front of his form were about to jump up and run. The jounin had to be careful, he knew who was coming to this same bar tonight, thanks to one pink haired teammate.

Kakashi didn't care much for who Asuma felt for, it was the man's own business. But he hadn't even been this beat up with Kurenai before they split, and that set him on edge slightly. He had it bad, bad being the understatment of the century. Asuma was a different person since his little object of affection came into play, and from the way that he acted, Kakashi knew the feelings ran deeper than mere attraction and lust.

The drinks came and Asuma snatched one before quickly chugging it down and pushing the empty glass away from him. Kakashi blinked at how fast he had swallowed the alcohol before reaching for his own beverage. He really hoped what he had set up was going to work, because having it blown up in his face, as well as Asuma, didn't sound appealing in the least.

Asuma glanced up at Kakashi as he pulled his mask down to his chin to drink his alcohol, barely taking note of his features since he had seen it so many times before, before letting his eyes roam over the crowd gathered on the chilling night. To his surprise, the place was pretty packed, having more civillans in the place than shinobi. Most were dancing, if it could be called that, while others milled around on the outside drinking and talking--shouting--to one another.

If he hadn't been in such as bad a shape as he was at that moment, he could easily be enjoying himself. As it was, he still wanted to drink himself away, and pray to any high source of power that when he woke up the next morning with a hangover from hell, his feelings would have disappeared. He sighed heavily, knowing that wasn't possible in the least. They would just have to go away over time.

Still, he had thought that before for two years now, and thy were still burning within him just as strong as the first time he realized its' presence.

Kakashi took a deep swallow of the liquid and held it in his hands, staring as it sloshed in its' container. They should be arriving soon, he thought. Sakura had said around ten thirty. It was currently ten thirty-five. He casually glanced around the room, putting up the show that he was just checking out the crowd, when in truth he was searching for a head of pink, blonde, or midnight colored hair.

Sakura had no idea of the what Asuma felt, and he intended to keep it that way for his friends' sake. He knew the man didn't like to be talked about behind his back, being the type that would rather you speak your grievances to him rather than around him. Besides, Kakashi needed to know how his object of affection felt for him, and if things went his way, Asuma would be leaving tonight a happier man.

"Kakashi, I don't know if I can handle this tonight."

"Hm?"

Asuma stared at his empty glass. How many times had he refilled it in the last twenty minutes? More than he could remember, that was for sure. His sight was already getting slightly blurred, and his head fuzzy. He wanted to go home, crash onto his futon, and just sleep the rest of the night, and part of the next day, off. Staying here didn't present much of a promising night.

"I'm going to go home," he sighed heavily and straightened slightly in his chair.

Kakashi's head snapped to him and the flash of uncertainty flitted across his exposed features. "Hang on, Asuma," he said quickly, waiting until his companion's drooped eyes locked on his. "Just wait a few more minutes. We only just got here."

"I....I can't take it anymore." he said quietly, clenching his fists on the table's surface. "There isn't enough alcohol in this damn place to get me drunk enough to forget." his voice rose slightly, and his eyes narrowed on the Copy Nin. "I need to leave."

Kakashi swallowed hard. This wasn't supposed to happen, if he left now, he might miss out on the oppurtunity. He couldn't let that happen, not when the slightest chances of his deepest attraction might feel the same. Granted it was a long shot, but she was broken. Hurt and confused, and Asuma had no idea. Not yet, anyway.

On impulse, Kakashi reached out and tried to snag Asuma's sleeve while spewing out some nonesense excuse to try and get him to stay. It proved to be futile though, as the muscled man shook off his grip and took a step for the exit. The hard set of his eyes and the clenching of his jaw was a clear sign of his discomfort and Kakashi grimaced at what he couldn't help. Half-rising from his seat, the silver-haired jounin called out his name once more over the music,

"Asuma!"

_'Welcome to the planet,_

_Welcome to existance._

_Everyone's here,_

_Everyone's here.'_

At first, Kakashi believed that he had stopped because his name had been called, and sighed in relief. Stepping out from the booth he had chosen to make his way to his companion, he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Look, Asuma. Just wait a little while....try to enjoy yourself....Asuma...?"

A strangled noise of distress bubbled up from deep within Asuma's chest, and Kakashi's eye widened at the intonation. It sounded as if someone had just shoved a kunai into his gut, and the worst type of pain was seering through his blood from the invisible wound. "Asuma?" he asked, shaking his shoulder slightly. "Asuma!?" he hissed.

The man in question took a step back, effectively clipping Kakashi's sandaled foot with his own and earning a grunt from his friend. Kakashi moved out of the way from any more danger to his person and looked at Asuma with a trained eye. The man looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Realization dawned on the jounin, and his head whipped to the side to see what Asuma was staring in horror at.

His lone dark eye widened as he took in the sight that met his eye and he didn't blame his friend for acting the way he did.

_'Everybody's watching you now,_

_Everybody waits for you now._

_What happens next?_

_What happens next?'_

Asuma swallowed thickly and begged for his body to turn around, to run while he still had the chance, while he was still sane. Why wouldn't he move?! His body had locked up and his eyes were frozen to the sight before him, a look of pain and misery etched into every line of his face. Why did this have to happen to him? Why now?

Quickly, Kakashi pulled his mask back up, hiding his features from the small group of kunoichi that had just entered the bar. They seemed so out of place, he thought, in cocktail dresses that fit them nicely and accentuated their grown forms. His gaze drifted to Sakura, and he felt old almost. She seemed to have grown so much over the years. It was sad to look at her and not see the little twelve-year-old genin he had been assigned with.

Ino stood on the other side of her, smiling brightly and letting her baby blue eyes sweep over the room in search of someone to occupy her time with. Sometimes it amazed him how outgoing and outspoken that girl was. But she was strong, from what Asuma had told him, and a capable kunoichi.

Kakashi's lone eye slid to the last of the group, and paused. His eye narrowed in curiosity as he watched her calculatingly. The object of Asuma's affection. The person that was putting that man through hell. The one that seemed to be choking the life out of his friend without even knowing it. The woman that Asuma had fallen so hard for. If any of the girls seemed out of place in the bar, it was her. In her midnight, mid-thigh length spahgetti strapped dress and casual coat, she seemed like she should be in a ballroom rather than a rough ninja bar.

Kakashi took a deep breath, hoping that Asuma wouldn't snap on him for what he was about to say, and stepped up next to him. Asuma flexed his fingers at his sides and watched as the slender, graceful heiress walked almost timidly next to her friends as they made their way to a booth within his eyesight.

"He denied her, Asuma. She confessed to him, and he didn't accept...." he watched as Asuma inhaled sharply and his dark eyes cut to the Copy Nin. ".......What are you going to do now."

It was more of a demand than a question, and it came out hard and rough. He wanted to push Asuma to the first step, force him to take it because he needed to. He needed to see what he could have if he stopped worrying about things so much. He _needed _this.

_'I dare you to move._

_I dare you to move._

_I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor._

_I dare you to move._

_I dare you to move._

_Like today never happened,_

_Today never happened, before.'_

In all honesty, all Asuma wanted was to wrap his arms around her, sheild her and protect her. But he wanted more too. He wanted something from her he hardly understood himself. He wanted to love her, and he wanted her to love him back, but it wasn't so simple. He coudn't have her because she wasn't meant for him. Naruto should have accepted her, should have taken her. How could he not? She was beautiful and pure, the perfect image of a goddess and yet he had pushed her away. It wasn't logical at all.

He knew he should be raging at Kakashi, yelling and beating him until he was nothing more than a pile of rubbish on the ground. If only he could find the strength. He felt so tired, so drained at that moment, he just wanted to fall and never get up. He had been set up, he could see that now, completely blindsided. It wasn't a good feeling to know this, and he felt slightly shamed by it.

However, seeing the graceful woman not too far away washed those thoughts from his mind. Her dark blue hair looked like silk in the dim lights, and her soft lavender eyes gleamed brightly. She was so beautiful in the dress, her curves even more noticable now than in her usual jacket and pants she wore daily. Why she saw the need to hide herself was beyond him.

Realizing what he was thinking, he jerked and shook his head violently. He couldn't think about her, he had to forget.

_'Welcome to the fallout._

_Welcome to resistance._

_The tension is here._

_The tension is here._

_Between who you are and who you could be._

_Between how it is and how it should be.'_

Kakashi's eye narrowed and he stepped back up to Asuma. This man was almost as stubborn as himself. "Asuma, go on. Go on!" he hissed under his breath and shoved the man slightly. Asuma made the strangled noise of distress in his throat once more and backed slowly away. This wasn't right, he couldn't do this. He wasn't a cradle robber, he refused to lay his hands on something too pure for him, he would taint her, ruin her. He couldn't.

Turning around completely, and sending a blank look to Kakashi, he made for the back exit. Kakashi's hands fell limp at his sides as he watched his companion walk away his form hunched and his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his pants. Without his usual jounin vest, Kakashi noted, he seemed a little more vulnerable. He shook his head and looked away respectfully.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

At the sound of his name, he looked up and sighed. _Now _they decided to walk over, after Asuma had already escaped. Kakashi inwardly frowned at his pink haired student. Hadn't he taught her at least _something _during their training time together? Granted he really didn't focus on her as much as he should have, but still, if anything she could have picked up on his wonderful timing skills. Yes, on almost more than one occasion he had been rather late, but he always seemed to show up when his presence was called for the most. Right? Right.

"Kakashi-sensei, I thought _both_ you and Asuma-senpai were going to be here?" Sakura tilted her head to the side as Ino and a shy Hinata stepped up next to her.

_'I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor._

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_Like today never happened._

_Today never happened.'_

Something so small and so indistinguishable flashed into the lavender hues of the Hyuuga's eyes, and Kakashi almost didn't catch it. It was gone before he could place what it was meant for, what she was thinking, and in its' place was her wide eyes staring up at him innocently. His eye narrowed imperceptibly on her, not even enough for her to notice. She did, however, blanch at his hard stare and look at him like prey caught by the predator.

"Why are you glaring at Hinata like that?!"

Kakashi blinked and turned his eye on the fiesty blonde that was narrowing her own eyes on him. Her hands were clenched at her sides, and her eyes were twin stones of cold sapphire as they demanded an answer from him.

He forced out a laugh and rubbed his neck casually. "Oh? Sorry, Hinata-chan. I didn't mean to upset you." His eye pinned her again, this time forcing up a front of warmth.

From the way she gulped and nodded, he knew she didn't buy it. She could clearly see the steely gaze behind his false look, the only question was, what had she done? It worried her that he would give her such a look, as if accusing her of something, or searching her like she had commited a crime.

_'Maybe redemption has stories to tell._

_Maybe forgivness is right were you fell._

_Where can you run to escape from yourself?_

_Where you gonna go?_

_Where you gonna go?_

_Salvation is here.'_

Sakura's cat green eyes searched her sensei carefully, wondering what he was thinking, why he was looking at Hinata like she had kicked his dog, and why he was here alone. What had happened to Asuma?

"Asuma just left actually," the jounin said, as if reading her mind. "....Something came up at home and he had to leave pretty quickly."

Ino snorted as a grin split her face and Kakashi gave her a questioning look. She blinked and stared at him like he had grown a second head. "You didn't actually believe him, did you?" she asked incrediously before breaking into a fit of laughter.

"Ino?" Sakura questioned, not sure what was so funny about the matter. Hinata peered at the blonde over Sakura's shoulder, a puzzled look etched into her features.

"Oh come on, he's probably just left to go find somewhere to inhale those cancer sticks." she sneered as she made a motion with her hand to indicate Asuma's nicotine addiction. Kakashi rolled his eye. He doubted Asuma was smoking right now. Wallowing in self-loathing maybe, but he had crushed his cigraettes.

_'I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to pick youself up off the floor._

_I dare you to move_

_I dare you to move_

_Like today never happened_

_Today never happened_

_Today never happened_

_Today never happened before.'_

"You're probably right," Kakashi said instead. "But I doubt we will be seeing him again tonight."

Again that flash of emotion went through Hinata's eyes, and Kakashi cursed silently when he couldn't place it. He noted though, with slight surprise that she didn't seem that upset. Hadn't Naruto denied her love just hours before? Why was she not crying or looking like forlorn lover?

"Kakashi-sensei," he glanced to Sakura who was staring him oddly. "We are going to go order our drinks....would you like to join us?"

He knew the last bit was added out of respect, and he politely declined the offer, saying he was meeting someone later. Which wasn't entirely a lie, but not exactly the truth either. Genma, plus a few others, usually came to the bar on Saturday nights, so maybe he wouldn't have to wait long.

As the three women walked away, he turned to the side, getting ready to head to the counter to order another drink--and maybe hit up on the pretty little server girl working the bar tonight--when a movement caught his attention. Hinata. She was walking, trailing, behind the other two, and shooting fleeting glances at the back exit. The same door that Asuma had taken as an escape. Examining her closer, he found her Byakugan activated, which momentarily stunned him.

A smirk formed on his lips and he whipped his head around quickly, searching for a familer chakra signature outside of the building. Sure enough, he felt it, and from the waves of distress coarsing through the energy flow he knew for a fact it was Asuma. Good, he hadn't left. He wasn't a coward, but God did he have some strength to stand outside like that. To even be near that young woman when she could so easily tear him down and kill him on the inside.

With a satisfied nod, Kakashi strode to the bar to talk up the petite server. She really was a pretty little thing.

* * *

Why didn't he just leave? He could just push himself off the wall right now and walk away. Would he leave his feelings behind too? Or would they be twice as painful now that he had seen her tonight? His soft, dark brown eyes closed as he leaned his head against the bricks of the building. It was no use, everything he felt for her would cling to him until the day his last breath whispered past his lips.

The squeak of metal against metal cut the silence sharply and Asuma winced from his place against the wall. He straightened and brushed his shoulders off before looking at the door to see who else was seeking a quick getaway from the crowded building. He wouldn't blame them in the least, he had done the same thing.

His body froze, and it was as if he had lost the ability to breathe. His eyes widened and his hand froze against his chest. Suddenly his long-sleeved black jounin shirt felt too tight, suffocating him, and his legs burned from the tension building in his body. God how he wanted to turn and run, wanted this to be dream that he was just about to wake up from.

Deep down though, he couldn't help but be happy. She was so beautiful.

Hinata swallowed hard and stared at the man in front of her with wide, lilac eyes. She couldn't believe he was actually out here. At first, seeing him with her bloodline, she had thought it was her mind playing tricks on her. But it wasn't, he was really there. Really and truly there.

"Hinata-san?" he managed to say softly, his arm dropping back to his side. Oh God, his chest hurt as he took in some air. She would surely kill him if she continued to show up everywhere like she had been doing as of late.

Inwardly she saddened at the suffix tacked onto her name, she was hoping for....for...what _was _she hoping for?

She forced a shaky smile. "Asuma-senpai. I...I didn't know t-that anyone was o-out here." The midnight haired woman frowned slightly at her stutter. It was an annoying habit, one she wished would rid her lips for good.

His gaze dropped to her lips at her smile and he blinked before dragging his eyes back to her flushed face. He sighed and watched the cloud of vapor disappear into the cold air. "I'm sorry if I startled you."

Hinata shook her head. "Do you....do you mind if I j-join you?"she asked, and gestured to the wall space beside him.

Against his better judgement, Asuma found himself nodding and moving to the side slightly to give her room. And to where she wouldn't be forced to touch him. She shyly smiled her thanks before walking closer and leaning against the walll beside him. He watched from the corner of his eyes as she clutched her purple and grey jacked closer to her curved body. Vaguely he wished he had brought his own jacket with him, but it seemed to have slipped his mind. As he shivered slightly--not completely due to the cold--he knew it would have been wiser to bring a jacket.

Hinata shifted against the wall, accidently bumping against Asuma in the process, as she tried to stand comfortably in the modes two-inch heels Ino had forced her to wear. The man next to her bit his tongue as he forced himself not to look down at her exposed slender legs. It was so wrong.

"I heard that you talked to Naruto today." he said quickly, trying to start a conversation to get his mind off of her body. He realized only too late his choice of topics might very well be over the line and too sensitive. For the both of them.

He winced and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"N-no," she stopped his apology and smiled sadly up at him. Her pale violaceous eyes glimmered beautifully in the night and he felt the burning in his chest, wanting him to lean closer to her face. Wanting to smell her and see her cheeks flush from his closeness. "It doesn't bother m-me to...to talk about it."

He couldn't help the smile that slid across his face. Her stutter was too cute. She blushed at his smile before giving one of her own. "The stutter will stop if you relax." he whispered.

At his tone, to her amazement, Hinata's heart sped and her blood seemed to rush to her cheeks. It seemed so unreal that he could do this to her, though she knew she shouldn't be too surprised. This was Asuma afterall.

Breathing in deep, she nodded at him and spoke softly. "I did tell him today," she started, talking slow and calm. "About how I felt."

A frown of concern etched into his brow, and she wondered why he even seemed to care. She wondered why she was telling him this. And she wondered why it didn't hurt as much as she had thought it would to be rejected by the blonde man she had convinced herself of loving. Was something wrong with her?

Hinata smiled and looked away from the man next to her and opted to look up at the starry night sky instead. Asuma's eyes drifted to her throat, so delicate and soft looking, his fingers burned from wanting to run his fingers over the sensitive flesh.

"He seemed sorry a-about it, but he's still in love with S-Sakura."

He leaned over slightly and his voice caressed her skin. "Relax."

She shoved her shaking hands into her jacket pockets nodded nervously. Asuma raged on the inside, yelling and pounding himself for getting so close. He shouldn't be here, he had no right. It was beyond wrong, he could get her into so much trouble with this. He should be at home, hating himself more and more, but he couldn't move. She was holding him with her, whether she knew it or not, she was gripping him to her and taking away his will to run from her.

For some reason, she felt a type of anger building in her. Not directed at anyone no, no one but herself, and it surprised her. For the first time that she could remember she wanted to punch something. She looked up at Asuma for reassurance. His eyes were closed and he was faced straight ahead. He looked almost as if he was in pain.

On impulse, her hand reached out and gently held onto his forearm. "Asuma-senpai?"

"Hinata...." he had to know what she felt for the blonde. Why she wasn't torn up because of his rejection. Her insides did an odd little flip at the sound of her name, no suffix added to the end. "What do you feel toward Naruto."

Her brow creased in confusion. Her feelings for Naruto? Why did he want to know that? Did it matter?

"I thought that you were in love with him." he inquired softly, opening his eyes and turning his head slightly to look at her from the corner of his eyes. Her blood heated up at his warm, soft, alluring brown eyes. She felt the need to get closer to him, the impulse so strong it almost melted her skin from its' intensity.

She scooted closer, letting her hand slip from his harm, brushing against his fingers, before hanging limply at her side. She saw the flash of heat enter his gaze before quickly disappearing again. Hinata's pulse sped up. "I-I d-did. I m-m-mean....I j-just...i-i-it wasn't w-w-what...."

His throaty chuckle caused her to stop her attempt at stammering her thoughts. The sound and vibrations that rumbled from his chest made a shock shoot through her body and she suppressed the need to feel him against her.

"Calm down, Little Princess. Relax." he breathed quietly lifting his hand to pat her softly on the head. She stared wide eyed at him, and he quickly dropped his hand. He couldn't lose control on her now, she was so innocent and pure. He refused to be the one to break that.

"I thought that I did....love.....him," she said quietly, tripping over the word _'love_' before continuing in a slow, soft tone. "But I'm not so sure. I...I think it was more of an admiration than love. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would." she paused and ever so slowly reached her small hand out to his. Her fingers entertwined themselves with his, and his breath caught in his throat.

No, he thought, you can't do this. Please. I don't want to hurt you.

"Hinata-" he started, but she caught him off with her next words.

"I didn't love him, I know that." she paused again. "I don't think I ever did." her lavender tinted eyes rose to his, shining with something that had his own blood boiling. If only she knew how badly he wanted to press her against the wall behind them, to kiss her and take her in ways that not even God could imagine, would she be the one to run? Would she turn away from him?

He didn't think he could bear it if she did.

"....Asuma...." she whispered, and it sent a jolt through at the sound of his name coming off her lips. "I...I want..."

What? What was she asking of him? At the present he wasn't so sure that he could deny her. It would hurt too much to see her crestfallen face, her tearing eyes. She had him wrapped around her finger tightly. He was like a sick, loyal puppy.

She struggled to say what she was trying so desperatly to get out. She wanted something, but how could she word it? The words died on her lips and she looked up at him pleadingly. He had to know what she was asking--though she hardly knew herself, but her body _ached _for it--he had to do something.

_She's only a child_.

The thought jerked him from his wants and needs so fast back to reality it was amazing it didn't give him whiplash. This wasn't possible, nothing but trouble and hurt could come from it. He had to get away from her, he had to distance himself from her. He could not, and would not, make her go through the confusion and pain he himself was being dragged through.

"Hinata....I should go." he whispered. "You must go inside or you'll catch a cold out here."

His chest constricted as the words came out. He knew he didn't want to say it, but he had to. If he didn't...He couldn't even think about it. He pulled his hand from hers, almost wincing from the loss of heat as the cold wrapped its' fingers around his body, and turned away. He heard her sharp intake of breath, but he forced himself to not look over his shoulder at her. He would lose all resolve if he did.

"A-Asuma!?" she cried, stepping out after him. He couldn't leave! It felt like he was taking a part of her with him and it _hurt_! It hurt so much more than what she felt for Naruto, causing tears to sting her eyes. Was she sick? What was this pain???

His steps hesitated the slightest fraction at her tone, her desperate voice, before picking back up again. He couldn't stop. He wasn't a cradle robber. He wouldn't hurt her. He had only made it a few steps away when her hand snatched his again and he felt her stumble against his back. At the feel of her against his back, fire shot through his veins, a delicous and flinch worthy type of addiction.

A muffled noise of surprise whispered past her lips and she went rigged against his tensed back. The young woman's heart leapt into her throat as her lungs seemed to freeze under the pressure and worry wracking her body. She should have leapt away from him, but she couldn't. The sheer warmth thrumming off of his form was so intoxicating and pleasant that she couldn't find the will to move away from him.

For once, she felt like she actually belonged there. As if he was there especially for her.

At her last thought, Hinata made a surprised squeak and stepped quickly away, her face blood red.

Asuma breathed out heavily and swallowed thickly before turning to the midnight haired woman. He was surprised at the color of her face, so red it appeared as if every ounce of her blood had surged front and center. Without giving it much thought he reached toward her, intending to place his hand on her forehead to see if she was alright. Realizing that he was about to touch her, he fisted his hand and let it drop back to his side. He had to leave. _Now_.

"Goodbye, Hinata-hime." he whispered quietly before turning once more and walking out of the small alley behind the bar building.

Her wide, pearl eyes watched him walk away and it felt like her heart were breaking. Why it chose now to do so amazed her and tears stung her eyes in frustration. What was going on? Why did she want to curl up next to that man? Want him to hold her and touch her in ways that she hardly understood? Her body was screaming at her to chase after him, trembling in fear of losing something precious, and pulsing for her to lose him.

Why now? Why hadn't she felt this way when Naruto had rejected her love for him? Why did her body choose to act this way toward Asuma? Her mind clouded and she felt weak, tired, and confused. Everything around her became a hazy blur, but she knew she couldn't stay out here in the cold. Somewhere in her fog induced head, her body registered what it wanted, what her head couldn't put into words for her. Her legs moved stiffly a few steps and she blinked repeatedly. Snow began to fall from the sky, and that was the only last thing she remembered clearly.

Flashes of streets, houses, trees, and people passing came to here awarness briefly before she would sink back into the cloudy screens of her mind. The only clear thing was that she was walking, heading somewhere, and her heart beat fast and hard in her chest from the rightness of it. Hinata knew she was taking a step in the right direction this time, and she wasn't about to let that slip through her fingers.

* * *

Kakashi blinked as he looked at the two kunoichi in front of him, both having an irratated expression on their faces.

"Where is Hinata?" Sakura demanded.

Kakashi choked and fought to control his expression. So Hinata had sought out Asuma herself? Good. This was working out better than he could have imagined.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much," Kakashi said lazily, waving a dismissive hand as turned back to the counter where his drink lay, as smirk teasing his lips under the mask. "Something must have come up at home and she had to leave pretty quickly."

A stunned silence followed his comment as realization slowly dawned on the two. Sakura shook her head and regarded Kakashi curiously, as if she didn't really believe what she knew. Ino blinked, trying to come to terms with what she knew, but believing at the same time she was wrong. It was an amusing reaction for Kakashi to watch.

"U-Um...Okay, thank you, Kakashi-sensei. We...We're going to go back to our table." Sakura said slowly before taking a - for once - silent Ino by the hand and taking her back from where they had come from. Kakashi smiled, a twinkle in his exposed eye as he pulled down his mask and took a sip from his drink. His sharp eye cut to the side and pinned the bar girl in his stare. She immediatly flushed red and Kakashi smiled gently at her.

Tonight was becoming _very _interesting.

* * *

Asuma leaned his forehead against the cool glass of his open window as he exhaled the smoke he had breathed in. He hadn't been home long, just long enough to remove his shoes and shirt and hitae-ate. Taking a last drag from the cigarette, he flicked the butt out into the snow covered ground. His deep brown eyes rose to the night sky as more snow fell from the heavens in torrents of rough wind. It was wonderful sight from the wildness of the air, and a small smile played on his lips.

His hands gripped against the windowsill and he lowered his head to look down at them. His body was aching to touch her, but he couldn't. He wanted to hold her, run his hands through her silky hair and over her beautiful skin, mark her as his own, and keep her in his hold for as long as she would let him. And he wasn't all that sure he would let her go if she came that close.

With a groan, Asuma pushed away from the window after closing it and walked to the main room of his apartment. He barely gave the small t.v. a glance before looking over the rest of the room. He needed to do something to get his mind off Hinata, to focus on something else, but there was nothing. t.v. would do that, but he really couldn't find it in him to turn it on.

Asuma rubbed his bare chest absently and shuffled his feet. Just as he was about to give in and watch the television, a knock sounded on his door. He stiffened and immediatly shot it a look. Staring at the door, he felt for a chakra signature. What he found made him stiffen and look at it in shock. Had she really walked in the blizzard going on outside? All the way here from the bar?

......Had she followed him?

Asuma walked quickly to the door before yanking it open and taking in the sight of a trembling Hinata, wide eyes searching his for something he couldn't understand. He watched her eyes glance down at his bare chest, and he mentally cursed at himself. Her cheeks immediatly colored, and his amusement still surfaced at her innocence.

"A-Asuma....can I c-come in?" she asked quietly, shaking from the freezing temperatures.

He jumped out of his thoughts and nodded, words dying in his throat as he watched her shuffle in, rubbing her arms and dancing on her feet to get the warmth circulating again.

When she finished she kicked off her shoes and looked at him with resolve in her eyes. He immediatly felt on edge and watched her warily.

She knew what she wanted, and what she wanted, what she _needed_, was him. Hinata had to convince him to want her too, and she knew that wasn't going to be easy. He seemed tense around her, and she wanted him to be comfortable. Which was funny when she thought about it because she was anything but comfortable right now. She was cold, but burning on the inside as she stared at his bare chest, confused but thinking straight.

On impulse she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to meet her waiting lips. He jerked so violently in her arms it scared her and she squeaked in surprise. Her lips brushed against his before he flinched and tried moving away from her, trying to get away before he lost all control.

"Hinata, no." he breathed as he rose his arms up, wrapping his strong hands on her forearms and tugging at them. She didn't let go and tried to look intimdating as she narrowed her eyes on him.

"I k-know what I want."

"You don't know what you're asking, Little Princess."

She shivered at his deep voice, sounding dark and invigorating as it rumbled through his chest. Heat pooled low in Hinata's body and she felt herself becoming restless.

She nodded insistently. "I do. I know what I'm a-asking." she tightned her hold on his neck and pushed herself up against him. He balked again, bringing his back to the wall where she effectively kept him pinned. They both knew he could break away whenever he so desired, but at his shaky state, he couldn't. She pressed her full length against him, making a soft noise of contentment as the aching in her body eased slightly. The heat forming in her lower regions flared and she rubbed her legs together slightly, wanting to relieve the feeling.

In an effort to lessen the feeling, she grinded against him. The affect made her gasp and her knees turn to jelly. The heat turned into a raging fire, shooting through her blood, and she moved against the man in front of her again to relish in the feeling of pleasure once more.

His hiss echoed in her ears as his hands dropped from her arms and gripped her slender hips, stopping her movements. She mewled in protest, caught up in the feelings going through her at the act of moving against him. Her eyes, half lidded, slid up to his and gazed at him in a way that asked why he was holding her back.

His eyes were hard and steely as the stared down at her. "Careful, Little Princess. My control isn't that strong."

His hoarse voice only drove her on more, and she grated into him harder than before, her hands sliding to his chest and fisting against his skin. She was beginning to get drunk off what she was going through and as she made to do it once more, Asuma stopped her and pushed from the wall, spun her around by her wrists, and pinned her against the plaster instead. She blinked in surprise and yelped as her cheek pressed against the cool texture of the wall.

Asuma rose her hands above her head with one of his own and held it there as he placed one thigh between her legs. His control and resolve had been flung out the window, and in it's place was a raw feeling man, exposed, vulnerable, and running purely on feeling and the blood pumping in his veins.

He leaned down to her ear and whispered in a seductive tone, "If you're so sure of what you want, Hime, than show me what you've got." He pressed his body against hers and he heard her gasp.

"Asuma...."she whispered and wriggled in his grasp, wanting to face him again. He tightened his hold on her hands as his other hand trailed against her side, slipping easily under the jacket and feeling her hot skin through the thin material of the dress. If she only knew the things she was putthing him through.

His hand skimmed her side and stomach, brushing ever so slightly the underside of her breast at which point she voiced another gasp and arched against his chest. She jumped slightly when she felt the hardness pressing insistently at her lower back, and it came as a slight shock that she could effect him this way.

She felt his hold loosen on her wrists and she shook them free before turning to him again. Her wide eyes stared up at him in slight fear, but also pinned him with the heat she felt coarsing through her. She knew he felt the same, and she could have cried at that fact.

"P-Please, Asuma." she whispered. "Please."

He couldn't hold back anymore, he couldn't deny her what she wanted when in truth he wanted it just as much, if not more, than she wanted. He felt like scum as he bent to her face, cupping her delicate features in his rough, ugly hands and melding his lips to hers. He stepped away from the wall, taking her willingly after him. Her hands spread against his skin, and she felt his muscles ripple under her touch.

One hand left her face while the other forced her head to a tilt as his tongue skimmed her lips softly. She moaned and leaned into his touch, losing control and going purely on instinct. Her mouth opened slightly and his tongue entered her mouth just as his free hand unzipped her jacket slowly and pushed it off her shoulders. Her cheeks flushed a deep red as she shivered at the loss of her jacket and was immediatly assaulted by his body heat.

Her body trembled against him as the hand that removed her coat brushed over her stomach softly before tracing a trail of warmth to her back. He nudged her head to the side, his tongue stroking hers sensually and driving her senses haywire. She relished the faintest taste of mint, sake, and cigarette smoke. It tasted better than she could have thought.

Asuma tangled his hand at the nape of her neck in her soft hair. She made a cute noise in the back of her throat as she tried to kiss him in the same way he was kissing her. Though she was inexperienced, she was arousing him all the more and making it harder not to the throw her on the ground and take her right there.

Hinata finally got the courage and gathered enough of her scattered senses to move, and she raised her own hands to tunnel into his dark locks. She heard and felt the soft growl that rumbled through his chest. The sound of a zipper coming undone filled the air, and she pulled her face away from him.

She was too hard to resist, her face flushed, her breathing ragged, her body shaking from anticipation and anxiety, why did she have to affect him so? He was going to get hell for what he was about to do, but right at that moment he couldn't find it in him to even care.

His eyes, dark and glazed over, bored down into hers as he pulled the zipper of her dress down the rest of the way, his fingers brushing gently against her soft back. She shivered from his touch and let one of her small hands trace over his features. She gulped, trying to push away the thought that once he pushed the dress off her shoulders, she would be completely bared to him. Nothing covering her except her underwear, which really couldn't count as a covering at all.

"Hinata, what do you want..." he breathed, his hands brushing over her and driving her insane.

The petite woman leaned into him, crashing her lips to his with a fervor of someone gone mad. Her hands cradeled his face in them, seering his jaw as her mouth moved over his and almost crying from the heat coarsing around and through her.

"Y-You....I w-want...you." she whispered when she pulled away from him slightly, their ragged breathing forming together. "Please...."

His lips were on her again, molding against her own as he moved them in a heart-pounding dance that had her knees quaking. He nudged her slightly, moving her back slowly. His tongue pressed against hers, sliding erotically before dipping further in only to pull back before she could respond. She moaned as she was continuously pushed back in a stumbling kind of walk.

He pushed her into the open doorway of his bedroom, effectively sealing the little fly-away emotions they had started. The silent promise of pleasure echoed throughout them both, and Asuma felt himself thrumming in anticipation, and just slight worry.

As Hinata's legs bumped against the mattress behind her, she sucked in a sharp breath and looked up into Asuma's chocolate eyes as he pulled from her. His eyes seemed like melted passion, dripping onto her skin as his gaze went over her slowly, dragging his eyes over the beauty that he was finally holding in his arms. That he was finally touching and kissing. That he would soon claim as his alone.

This seemed like a dream, so surreal and delicious in the danger and caution it executed. And she couldn't have wanted it more.

Hinata sat back on the bed, moving out of Asuma's warm grasp, and slowly slid further on the mattress until she was positioned in the middle of the bed. Her eyes begged him to come closer and her lips parted as her breaths came out short and ragged. His chest tightened and he winced. She was so beautiful. He knelt down on the matress in what seemed to Hinata, slow motion.

His movements as he crawled to her sent her body almost convulsing. His eyes were burning with an intensity that had her soaked in her panties. Her breathing became erratic and she made of noise of desperate need in the back of her throat. He hovered over her, his knees pushing hers apart for him to settle between. His eyes bored into her, shaking her to her core as he leaned close enough for his nose to brush against hers. His arms held himself up by her hips as her own propped her ownself up from behind her.

"This is your last chance to back out, Little Princess." he whispered, and his eyes flashed dangerously.

She knew he wasn't lying, this was her only escape. After this brief moment, there was no going back. No regrets. This was it. His smoldering dark eyes, pinning her in place and making her blood rush through her veins, her face going red from the hungry look in their depths, this was everything she had been craving. This is what she had been wanting. For such a long time.

She would have to think Naruto for rejecting her, because if he didn't she would have been in denial. Denying herself of what she most wanted, which was now practically on top of her, his heat wrapping around her in a breath taking way, dragging her thoughts and senses out of her grasp.

"I-I am n-not l-leaving." she stammered out as he pressed against her, his hard member pressing against her most secluded of areas. She gasped in surprise as a violent tremor shook through her.

She blinked as she saw his lips turn up in the faintest of smiles. "Relax, Hinata. You need to relax." he whispered to her as his lips kissed her neck, trailing softly on her soft flesh and nipping slightly.

She mewled in pleasure as her arms shook from holding herself up. One of Asuma's hands pressed against her lower back, slipping inside the dress and spreading his fingers over her skin. She sighed and tilted her head back as he continued to lick and nip and kiss at her neck. He pushed her back, forcing her to lay down beneath him as his mouth moved lower and her breath hitched as his fingers brushed her dress off her shoulders.

His kisses were gentle but demanding as he pressed his lips over her shoulder and collarbone, his teeth scraping against her skin before his tongue caressed it tenderly. She squirmed beneath him, wanting him to touch her so badly. When he lifted himself up on his knees, she almost cried out in remorse at the loss of contact. Instead she whimpered and looked at him pleadingly. He smiled lustfully down at her as his hands hooked the dress easily, and pulled it off of her in one fluid movement.

She squeaked and immediatly moved to cover herself, her shyness breaking through in her moment of vulnerablity at being exposed. His soft chuckle vibrated through her body as he leaned over her, capturing her hands within his. His fingers threaded through her own as he lifted them beside her head, resting on the soft matress. He stretched out fully over her like a lazy cat, glancing at her cautisously before leaning down and taking one her sensitive, hardened nipples into his hot mouth.

He smiled against her vulomptous mound as she gasped loudly, a choked, "A-Asuma!?" escaping her parted lips. His tongue flicked against the tender flesh, and she cried out, arching into him. He bit back a groan at the feeling of having her pressing against his straining erection. He couldn't take her, not yet. He wanted to pleasure her because he knew it would be painful. He wanted her to want this more than anything, willing and ready for him.

Asuma released on of his hands from her rapidly tightening hold, and wrapped his warm, calloused fingers upon her other breast. Her body rocked against his touch, her hair spreading more against the sheets as she shook her head at the feelings wracking through her.

As he pulled his mouth away from her breast, she shivered at the cold that assaulted the cool skin, and he massaged both her breast in a caressing way with his hands as his lips captured hers once more. She moaned pathetically into his mouth, his lips dragging hers into a dance that had her heart pounding and her body shaking.

She pulled away from him, her cheeks flushed a deep red and breathing coming in short pants. Her pale eyes slid to his clothed waist before looking back up at him, silently requesting him to remove them. His addicting eyes stared into hers, searching for some kind of rejection at her silent pleading. There was none.

He pressed his lips softly to hers before pulling back. His hands trailed softly down her sides, following the dip of her hips before pausing at the waistband of her last barrier. He slipped them off easily and his fingers brushed her thighs lovingly. She shivered and squirmed as the heat in her became more intense, driving her mad as he still refused to touch her the way she desperatly wanted him to.

His eyes locked with hers as he unbuckled and unzipped his pants. Hinata's eyes widened and her breath hitched in her throat. She was so nervous, but she didn't want him to stop. He stood from the bed and Hinata watched with rising anxiety as he hooked his pants and pulled them off. She gulped audibly at the sight of him, fully exposed to her innocent eyes.

He was...he was just so _big_. How was _that _thing going to go inside her?! It'd tear her apart at the seams. There was just no way, it was impossible.

He moved over her again, his hands nudging her legs apart to accomadate him as his lips stole hers once more. She shuddered, and he could practically smell her anxiety radiating off her, among other heavy scents coming in waves from her person.

Asuma positioned himself at her entrance, his member throbbing at the feeling of heat emanating from her core, caressing him gently and unbiddingly. He brushed his lips softly over hers once, twice, a third time before pulling back to gaze into her wide, scared, lavender eyes. She looked so beautiful beneath him, so wonderfully exposed to his stare.

Asuma's eyes darkened to an almost inky black color as they traced over her face, as if trying to memorize how she looked at this moment. Maybe he was, maybe he wanted to remember her like this forever, maybe he wanted to remember how she looked up at him with so much trust and love, giving herself over to him in the most intimate way possible. He wanted this image ingrained in his mind, burned into his eyes.

He leaned next to her ear, his cheek brushing softly against her own as he whispered, "Are you ready, Hinata."

She nodded silently. One of his eyes glanced over at her, gouging her reaction as he slowly pushed into her. Her expression flitted from surprise, pain, and pleasure so fast he hardly caught them as he hissed from her heat. He felt like he was being strangled with the pleasure shooting through him.

He panted and shut his eyes. "Shit...H-Hinata....You're too tight."

Even though she was having these things done to her, even though she was probably going through so much more than his body was, she had the courtesy to apologize to him. A haggard laugh scratched from his throat as he trembled above her, trying to take it slow so as to not her.

He pushed further in, and she cried out. Asuma forced himself to stop once more, his body screaming in protest, and gazed at her angel face. It was contorted in pain and a stab of guilt went through his system. She would be hurting so much more in only a matter of moments. He should have known he would be too big for her, it was her first time damn it! She might think she was ready for this, but her body wasn't.

Hinata's small hands gripped into his hair, pulling at the strands as she bit her lip. Her breathing came in short pants and she blinked her eyes repeatedly. It hurt. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle, but it hurt. Her pale eyes searched Asuma's, silently asking him to continue. Her body was itching for him to be deep inside her, and she knew that the pain would go away soon. She just needed him in her.

"You need to relax for me, Hinata. It's going to hurt even more if you don't relax." he whispered into her ear, and she shivered under him. Nodding she forced herself to relax into the matress, spreading her legs wider for him to settle his pelvis comfortable against her own when he would be able to fully enter her.

Asuma bit back a groan at the feeling of her moving against him. "This _is _going to hurt," he warned. "But it will get better, I promise."

As the words left his lips he kissed her roughly, attempting to drag her thoughts from the oncoming pain. He figured it would be best to take her by surprise, so she wouldn't expect it, therefore the pain would be as bad. Hopefully. His tongue attacked hers and she moaned into his mouth, kissing him back with as much fervor as he was her. When he knew that she wasn't paying anymore attention to anything else, he thrusted fully into her.

She jerked harshly, tensing around him in a way that had him fighting back a yell of his own. Her mouth tore away from his as she screamed, thrashing her head to the side at the ripping and tearing feeling from inside her. She felt herself stretching on the inside, trying fit him, and it hurt! Oh _God _it hurt! Tears streamed from her eyes and her body shook. She hardly heard the words of apology and comfort from the man ontop of her.

She had known the pain was coming, it shouldn't have come as such a surprise. But she wasn't expecting this, it hurt too much. Hinata knew that it was because he was so big and her body just wasn't ready to accomodate such a size, but she wanted to. She had wanted to please him and show him that she wanted him. She _needed _him. _But it hurts, _she whimpered and tried to move, trying to ease the pain. She cried out again as it only served in tearing her more.

Asuma felt like throwing himself off a bridge, or jumping into a mob of enemy ninja as he watched her cry. This was the lowest he had ever felt. If he pulled out of her now, it would only hurt her more. He knew this. If he stayed dormant, fighting his urges off tooth and nail, it would only make them both hurt. With self-loathing seeping and dripping from every pore in his body, Asuma pulled halfway out before pushing back in. She screamed in protest, her hands coming to his shoulders to feebly try and push him away.

He didn't budge. Shutting his eyes tight, he pulled out and entered her again. Once more her painful cry echoed around him and his chest constricted painfully. He was already trembling and shaking from the effort of holding back, his body not used to the tightness surrounding him or intense heat from her, or even from the pace he was setting. He felt blindsided and confused at the change off events. Usually he was always in control and knew how to handle himself. Now he wasn't so sure.

Hinata writhed under him as he continued at a slow rhythm that had her crying from the pain. She knew it was stupid to cry, she knew that it would hurt, but she couldn't stop. She knew it was hurting him to see her like this, and she wanted to like it, and she tried. She tried to like what was going through her. But it was the same as liking the feeling of being stabbed and pulled apart.

As he pulled in and out three more times, Hinata's crying slowed, something that wasn't missed by Asuma's trembling form. His half-lidded eyes pinned her and she sniffled under him, wincing as he entered her again. The pain was ebbing away, and in it's place was something else, something that was itching at her like before. It was calling her and it was making her squirm again.

Asuma pressed a gentle, apologetic kiss to her lips. "I'm so sorry, Hinata-hime."

She noted his voice was haggard, as if he was in pain. He shook over her, her breasts brushing his muscled chest as she breathed, and a fire began building in her. A noise of pleasure echoed from the back of Hinata's throat, and Asuma almost sighed in relief, had it not been for the fact that she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist.

He choked and pressed an urgent kiss to her swollen lips. Hinata kissed him back feverently, feeling the pain disappear as he thrusted into her. It felt as if something was coiling deep within in her as Asuma pushed inside her. She bucked her hips under him, and Asuma hissed at the feeling of her becoming more alive in his hold.

Hinata moved impatiently under him, grinding against him every time he thrusted inside her tight body. The feeling in her was getting tighter and tighter, almost having her wanting to thrash in a new way under him. She mewled in his ear as he rested his head against her shoulder. He knew she wanted him to speed up, but he didn't want to hurt her. He knew he could get rough when in bed, and the last thing he wanted was for her to cry again.

As he slammed into her once more, a greater force making his thrusts rougher, she moaned in encouragment, rubbing herself against him and arching into his hot chest. His body sped up against his will, and he couldn't fight it off any longer. With a growl he kissed her savagly, attacking her mouth with teeth and tongue as one of his hands gripped her hip to hold her in place. To keep her from egging him on even more. His free hand rubbed one of her exposed breasts.

Hinata cried out into Asuma's mouth in pure ecstasy at the feeling of being touch and taken at the same time. His tongue circled hers before he bit her lip gently, kissing her heatedly. She pressed herself more fully against him, her breasts bouncing against him as his thrusts became stronger. In the back of his lust clouded mind, he was relieved to find she wasn't in pain anymore.

Asuma lifted her hips slightly before pounding into her again, Hinata broke from his mouth to breathe and her head tilted back, her mouth open in a silent scream of pleasure. Asuma's body arched above her as her heat licked at him, teasing him to lose control completely. His large hands held each side of hips in his grasp, forcing her to move with him in his dance.

The coil was becoming almost too much to bear for Hinata, and with every thrust into her, she cried out Asuma's name. Hearing his name fall from her lips, Asuma's body hummed in approval and became even more rough.

Hinata's vision turned white as an explosion inside her body had her screaming for Asuma as loud as she could. Stars danced in front of her eyes and her body shook violently as the coil within her broke and flung her into an abyss that she had been reaching for. Asuma's gutteral growl ripped from his throat as his vision blurred fiercly, threatning to make him completely blind. He slammed into her once more, spilling himself deep within her as his body jerked from the intensity of his own orgasm.

His arms were shaking severly as he tried to ride out the intense and fierce waves of pleasure slamming into him over and over again. It was almost as if he were drowning from it, and Hinata below him, still pressing her bare torso against him as she was yanked around by her reactions to the orgasm. He forced his eyes to watch her face as she drowned like him. She was so beautiful. The most graceful creature he had ever layed his eyes on.

As he began to gain control of his body once more, his eyes trailed down to her slender throat. There, off to the side but in plain view, was a mark. _His _mark. Claiming her as his own, staking what was his and showing the world that she belonged to him. His chest thrummed with passion and pride as her breathing slowed.

Hinata's eyes opened slowly and immediatly locked onto the soft, warm, and caring gaze of Asuma. He smiled gently at her as he rested some of his weight on her, most on his arm as he leaned to the side. Her shyness hit her with full force and her face went beet red, something that made him chuckle lazily and his eyes glaze over. She turned her head to the side, worrying what that look would do to her now that she had calmed from her high.

He tilted her head back to him with his thumb and pressed his lips gently to hers. "Little Princess," he breathed, making her shudder and her body heat up. "I promised it would get better."

She smiled shakily as she kissed him shyly.

He sighed against her mouth before pulling himself out of her, earning a noise of protest from the woman beneath him, and rolled next to her, his chest pumping from his harsh breaths. She lifted herself to a sitting position and looked down at him curiously. Her own chest heaving with heavy breaths not yet calmed completely. His arms snaked out and wrapped around her thin waist, dragging her back down and into his side.

She squeaked in surprise as he turned on his side to gaze into her eyes, his forehead pressing against hers. "You're so beautiful." he whispered. Her face turned even redder.

"I-I...Asuma....Y-Y-You...." she tried to say something, anything to let him know what she was feeling, but the words only came out stammered and broken.

He chuckled softly and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Relax, Little Princess."

She sighed and her eyes drooped. He reached down and pulled the blanket over them, tucking up to her chin as his gaze softened and warmed on her. She smiled shyly and snuggled up to him, tucking her head under his chin.

"Sleep well, Hinata." he whispered to her as he wrapped his arms around her in a protective, almost possesive embrace.

* * *

Asuma awoke in the morning, slightly sore but feeling more relaxed and at peace then he had felt in a long, long time. As the scent of lilies and jasmine filled his nose, he shifted and found a small body clutching to his own. A soft smile teased his lips as he gazed down at Hinata.

Her arms had worked themselves around his muscled abdomen sometime during the night, holding him close as one of her legs entangled themselves with his own. Her night colored hair splayed out across his sheets like silk water, contrasting nicely with the white cotton they layed in. She shifted in her sleep, her face scrunching up cutely as she became more aware of her surroundings.

Asuma decided he rather liked her tangled in his sheets, in his bed, curled up with his pillows and sleeping with him in his home. It seemed right. Asuma's eyes saddened as he looked out the window at the rising sun.

They had started something now, though. Something that wasn't going to be easily hidden or tucked away. And he didn't want it that way, he didn't want to hide his feelings from her any longer. He wanted everyone to know that she belonged to him, and he wasn't going to give her up without a fight. And even after that, they would have to kill him before he let her go.

His warm brown eyes turned back to the beauty curled up next to him. It would take a while for everyone to understand, to see what they had together. Not everyone would accept it, and would do everything to tear them apart. But they were strong, they would fight for it. Hinata seemed like such a small thing, and his arms tightened around her at that thought, but she was stronger than was given credit.

His arms would be her safe haven, her safety and warmth and protective home. Asuma nuzzled his nose into her hair, breathing in her scent. If people couldn't understand the bond they shared, then fuck them. They would _force _them to see. Just because they couldn't understand it, didn't mean they could shun it.

He would make them see.

Asuma's fingers brushed over his angel's face. What they had couldn't be torn or broken apart. He was tightly tied to her for good now. There was no hope of him escaping, and he didn't want to. He was content to be at her mercy, he was content to show her his heart. He was content with exposing his throat to her because, now, she held the most precious thing he could offer in this world.

If she ever became upset with what other said, he would hold her, comfort her, and whisper so gently in her ear that she only had to ignore them, because they would never know anything. All that mattered was that he was there for her and would always be with her. His strength was hers whenever she needed, he would help her stay strong.

In her sleep, Hinata's hand searched out his own and softly grasped it. A soft sight of contentment stole passed her lips and Asuma's heart clenched in his chest. His eyes traced her features in her slumber, so lovely and pure. Her innocence still radiated off her, even after what had transpired between them.

As Asuma pulled her closer to him, keeping her as close as possible, he knew he would never give her up. No matter what anyone said or did, he had staked his claim and he wasn't leaving her. Ever.


End file.
